Holder for a beverage-containing vessel that is adapted for wall mounting in lavatories and public restrooms

ABSTRACT

A holder for a cup, glass, can, bottle or other beverage containing vessel. The holder is arranged to be permanently secured to a vertical surface in a lavatory or public restroom and is an integral unit including a cylindrically shaped chamber, a mounting plate and a neck portion securing the two together. The mounting plate has an inner surface arranged to confront the vertical surface in the lavatory or public restroom to mount the holder in place. The chamber has a bottom wall and is arranged to receive the cup, glass, can, bottle or other beverage containing vessel therein. The bottom wall includes plural apertures therein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 60/671,070, filed on Apr. 14, 2005.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

“Not Applicable”

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK

“Not Applicable”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to holders for beverage containingvessels and more particularly to such holders particularly arranged formounting on the wall of a public restroom or lavatory.

2. Description of Related Art

Various beverage container holding devices for use in public restroomsin bars, restaurants, stadiums, arenas, amusement parks, airports,clubs, casinos, rest stops, malls, gyms/health clubs, spas, movietheaters, golf courses, etc. are commercially available and many aredisclosed in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,239(Smith) discloses a beverage container support for supporting a beverageupon a component of a flush valve for use in public restroom facilitiesincludes a support surface upon which a beverage container could beplaced as well as a depending skirt that can be used as a displaysurface for advertisements. Other patents disclosing beverage containerholders for mounting on a flush valve of a toilet in a public restroomof similar facility are: U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,885 (Lopez-Torres, Jr.),U.S. Application No. 2003/0136890 (Smith), U.S. Application No.2001/0013144 (Lopez-Torres Jr.), U.S. Application No. 2005/0050631(Rifkin), and U.S. Application No. 2004/0177434 (Sputh).

Other patents and patent applications disclose other types of beveragecontainer holders. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,780 (Wenkman et al.)discloses a beverage container holder kit which can be mounted hangingadjacent the edge of a horizontal surface, hanging from a verticalsurface, mounted on a horizontal surface, or hanging from a narrowobject, wall or panel, as desired. The kit includes a receptacleelement, a support bracket and a mounting element.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,618 (Lancaster) discloses a container holder adaptedto be mounted within a vehicle interior compartment is providedcomprising a housing which mounts at least one pivotable arm having asector-like floor portion. The arm is pivotable between a retracted andan extended position.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,148 (Gospodarich) discloses a wheel chair and a cupholder which is adapted to be secured to the vertical tubular supportmember of the wheelchair for supporting various sizes beveragecontainers.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,802 (Fowler) discloses a beverage holder having anadjustable mounting system includes a cylindrical-shaped cup member anda clamp assembly which are secured together using a threaded fasteningmember.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,257 (Gradei et al.) discloses a holder for carryingbeverage containers that includes a bracket for releasably mounting theholder on a support and having a generally C-shaped clamp bracket, agenerally U-shaped swing bracket depending from the clamp bracket, andadjustable clamping screw associated with the clamp bracket.

U.S. Application No. 2005/0006547 (Exler) discloses a holder forreceiving a liquid-containing device and mounting it onto a magneticaccepting support or surface.

U.S. Application No. 2004/0108346 (Pablo) discloses a beverage bottleholder includes a pair of arcuate ribs and an interior arcuate portionfor holding therein a beverage bottle and a clip portion that has a pairof spaced-apart legs for sliding onto a waistband or belt.

U.S. Application No. 2004/0173719 (Mitchell) discloses a beveragecontainer holder which includes a magnet within the sleeve of a beveragecontainer holder. The beverage container holder, along with any beveragecontainer placed in the beverage container holder, may be magneticallymounted on any ferrous material mounting surface.

U.S. Application No. 2004/0118860 (Leopold et al.) discloses a holderfor a beverage container that includes a receptacle, a gripping devicehaving holding jaws which are capable of being pressed resiliently awayand project into the and sideways by means of which the holding jaws aremounted.

U.S. Application No. 2003/0197104 (Heybl et al.) discloses an improvedcup holder that is fully adjustable and gimbaled and also insulates thebeverage it is holding.

U.S. Application No. 2003/0098402 (Kaupp) discloses a holder for abeverage container has two holding arms which engage around an insertionopening for the beverage container and are mounted so that they arepivotable in a lateral direction about pivot axes as pincers.

U.S. Application No. 2002/0109062 (Fowler) discloses a beverage holderhaving an adjustable mounting system includes a cylindrical-shaped cupmember and a clamp assembly which are secured together using a threadedfastening member.

While the aforementioned beverage container holding devices aregenerally suitable for their intended purposes they never the less leavesomething to be desired from one or more of the standpoints ofsimplicity of construction, ease of mounting and use, ability to bemaintained in a sanitary stage, thermal insulating ability andresistance to condensation.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a holder for a cup, glass, can, bottle orother beverage containing vessel. The holder is arranged to be securedby either an adhesive or by threaded fasteners, e.g., screws, to avertical surface, e.g., a wall or stall, in a lavatory or publicrestroom.

The holder is an integral unit, e.g., molded of a plastic, and includesa cylindrically shaped chamber and a mounting plate. The mounting platehas an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface is arrangedto confront the vertical surface in the lavatory or public restroom whenthe holder is mounted on that surface. The chamber projects outward fromthe outer surface of the mounting plate. The chamber includes a circularside wall and a bottom wall. The side wall has an inside diametersufficiently large to receive the cup, glass, can, bottle or otherbeverage containing vessel therein with the cup, glass, can, bottle orother beverage containing vessel resting on said bottom wall. The bottomwall includes plural apertures therein.

In accordance with one preferred aspect of this invention the holder isformed of a flame retardant plastic.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of this invention the holderis formed of a plastic including an anti-bacterial agent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in conjunction with the followingdrawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements andwherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of one exemplary embodiment of a cup holderconstructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the cup holder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the cup holder shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the cup holder shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein likereference characters refer to like parts, there is shown at 20 in FIG. 1a beverage-container, e.g., cup, holder constructed in accordance withone exemplary embodiment of this invention. As will be described indetail hereinafter, the holder 20 is preferably constructed as a onepiece unit, e.g., it is molded of any suitable polymeric material, suchas ABS. Any suitable molding technique may be utilized, e.g., injectionmolding, etc., to form the holder.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the beverage-containing holder 20 isparticularly suited to be readily, permanently mounted on a verticalsurface 10 in a public restroom, e.g., a bar, restaurant, stadium,arena, amusement park, airport, club, casino, rest stop, mall,gyms/health club, spa, movie theater, golf course and portable restroom.The vertical surface 10 on which the holder 20 may be mounted is anysurface within the restroom where a patron would wish to convenientlyplace his/her beverage while attending to some personal need. Examplesof such surfaces are walls adjacent a sink, privacy panels or stallsadjacent a urinal or commode, etc. Since the beverage container holder20 is arranged to be mounted on a vertical surface, it can be usedvirtually any place in a public restroom, in contrast to some of thebeverage holders of the prior art which are limited to mounting on aflush valve of a urinal or commode.

Turning now to FIG. 1 the details of the construction of the beveragecontainer holder 20 will now be described. It should be noted that thisembodiment is merely one example of numerous holders that can beconstructed in accordance with this invention. Thus, the shape,configuration and size shown and described herein are merely exemplaryand other shapes, configurations and sizes are contemplated. As can beseen the beverage container holder 20 basically comprises acylindrically shaped chamber 22, a mounting plate 24 and a neck portion26 interconnecting the chamber and the mounting plate. The holder 20 isan integral unit that is preferably molded as a one-piece unit of apolymeric material. As will be described later an antibacterial orsimilar sanitary agent may be incorporated into the holder in theinterest of sanitation. Moreover, the holder is preferably formed of aflame retardant material, e.g., ABS plastic, so that it should notpresent a fire hazard if persons misuse it as an ashtray instead of abeverage container holder.

If desired the holder can be fabricated out of individual componentsthat are fixedly secured, e.g., glued, welded, etc., together. Thechamber 22 includes a circular side wall portion 22A and a bottom wallportion 22B (FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 2, the side wall 22A is somewhatconical in shape, e.g., it tapers slightly from its top edge 22C to itsbottom edge 22D. This arrangement facilitates the placement of thebeverage container within the hollow interior of the chamber 22. Itshould be noted that the side wall 22A may, if desired, be a rightcircular cylinder. In any case, the bottom wall 22B is located at thebottom edge 22D. The bottom wall serves as the support for the bottom ofthe beverage holder placed within the chamber 22. The side wall of thechamber 22 may be of any suitable inner diameter that is sufficientlylarge to receive the cup, glass, can, bottle or other beveragecontaining vessel therein. One particularly suitable size for thebeverage container holder 20 is approximately 4.25 inches round at thetop, approximately 4 inches round at the bottom and approximately 4inches in height. The mounting plate 24 is approximately 4.5 inches wideand approximately 5 inches in length.

As can be seen in FIG. 4 the bottom wall includes a plurality, e.g,eight, of holes 22E therein. These holes 22E enable air to flowtherethrough. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, theflow of air through the holes will have a cooling effect to helpmaintain the cold temperature of most typical beverages, beers, mixedspirit drinks, soft drinks, etc., that are to be held within the holder.Moreover, the holes 22E serve as drainage holes to prevent theaccumulation of any liquid spills or condensation (e.g., beverage“sweat”) inside the chamber 22. This helps maintain the sanitary natureof the holder by preventing the build-up of liquid within the container.Such a liquid build up is not only unsightly, but may serve as a growthmedium for bacteria, etc. In the further interest of sanitation, asmentioned above, the holder may include an anti-bacterial agent. Theantibacterial agent may be incorporated into the material, e.g., theplastic, making up the holder or may be applied in the form of a coatingto the entire holder, or to any desired portion thereof. The holes 22Eare arranged in a circular pattern centered about the center of thebottom wall. Each hole is approximately ¼ inch in diameter. It should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that the number, size andlocation of the holes 22E as set forth above is merely exemplary.

The mounting plate 24 basically comprises a generally planar member ofany peripheral shaped profile. In the embodiment shown the mountingplate is shown being generally rectangular in shape, with slightlyrounded corners. This is merely exemplary and the plate may be of anyother regular shape, e.g., square, circular, triangular, etc., or anyirregular shape. In any case, the mounting 24 plate includes an innersurface 24A which is arranged to engage the vertical surface 10 on whichthe holder 20 is to be mounted. The exemplary embodiment 20 showncontemplates permanent mounting of the holder onto that vertical surfaceby either use of an adhesive and/or by use of screws or other threadedfasteners, e.g., anchors, molly bolts, etc. To facilitate the adhesivesecurement of the mounting plate to the vertical surface 10, the innersurface 24A of the mounting plate 24 includes a plurality of recesses24B. In the exemplary embodiment shown the recesses are in the form ofundercut elongated channels running from the top edge to the bottom edgeof the mounting plate. These recesses serve to receive the adhesivetherein, so that the adhesive has a larger surface area to bond to,thereby aiding in permanently securing the holder to the verticalsurface 10. Any suitable type of adhesive can be used for mounting thebeverage container holder to the vertical surface 10, such as an epoxyor acrylic mastic glue adhesive.

The mounting plate 24 also includes a pair of vertically aligned slots24C and 24D extending through the plate contiguous with its top andbottom edges as best shown in FIG. 3. These slots are arranged toreceive the threaded fasteners for mounting the beverage containerholder 20 onto the vertical surface 10. In the exemplary embodimentshown the slots are sized to accommodate two #8 screws with alligatorwall anchors, although other size slots can be used. The screws and wallanchors allow for beverage container holder to be securely mounted ontile, concrete, drywall, brick, cinder block, masonry, wood, stucco orflake board. The molding action of the Alligator wall anchors bonds theanchors to the wall enabling the holder to absorb shock and vibration.

The neck portion 26 serves to hold the chamber 22 slightly away from themounting plate 24 and basically comprises a wall-like member projectingperpendicularly out from the outer surface of the mounting plate. In theinterest of weight reduction, the neck portion 26 may be hollow.

The exemplary embodiment of the beverage container holder 20 asdescribed is strong enough to hold up to 5 pounds and large enough tohold any beverage cup, glass, bottle or can up to 4 inches wide.

The outer surface of the chamber 22 of beverage holder provides a veryconvenient and readily visible space or location for advertising and/orpromotional materials, e.g., logos, etc. Such materials may be in theform of indicia 28 that is applied to the chamber by a waterproof labelor screen-printing. Alternatively, the indicia may be in the form of anembossment or debossment in the outer surface of the chamber.

As should be appreciated by those skilled in the art the beveragecontainer holders of this invention can go a long way to eliminatebroken glass and spills on restroom floors and safety hazards that makemaintenance difficult. In particular, the subject holders provides abetter alternative to placing bottles, glasses, cans or cups atop wetand unsanitary slippery toilet tanks, urinals sinks and dirty restroomfloors. The beverage container holders of this invention can bepermanently mounted in restrooms and the like, yet maintain theirsanitary condition, while being readily cleanable when necessary withoutnecessitating their removal. Another advantage of the beverage containerholders of this invention is the fact that they can provide premiumadvertising space on their front or sides for eye-level productplacement. In particular, advertisers can display their company orproduct logo on the beverage container holder in front of a “captive”audience (e.g., persons relieving themselves, washing their hands, etc.)The wall-mounted beverage holder gives the benefit of a directadvertising campaign and lets advertisers reach customers that othermedia often miss or do not reach effectively.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully illustrate myinvention that others, made by applying current or future knowledge,readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

1. A holder for a cup, glass, can, bottle or other beverage containingvessel, said holder being arranged to be secured by either an adhesiveor by threaded fasteners to a vertical surface in a lavatory or publicrestroom, said holder being an integral unit comprising a cylindricallyshaped chamber and a mounting plate, said mounting plate having an innersurface and an outer surface, said inner surface being arranged toconfront the vertical surface in the lavatory or public restroom whensaid holder is mounted on said surface, said chamber projecting outwardfrom said outer surface of said mounting plate and comprising a circularside wall and a bottom wall, said side wall having an inside diametersufficiently large to receive the cup, glass, can, bottle or otherbeverage containing vessel therein with said cup, glass, can, bottle orother beverage containing vessel resting on said bottom wall, saidbottom wall comprising plural apertures therein.
 2. The holder of claim1 wherein said holder is formed of a plastic material.
 3. The holder ofclaim 1 wherein said holder is flame retardant.
 4. The holder of claim 1wherein said holder is formed of a flame retardant plastic.
 5. Theholder of claim 4 wherein said plastic comprises ABS.
 6. The holder ofclaim 1 wherein said holder includes an anti-bacterial agent.
 7. Theholder of claim 6 wherein said holder is formed of a plastic includingan anti-bacterial agent.
 8. The holder of claim 1 wherein said innersurface of said mounting plate includes plural recesses for receipt ofan adhesive to facilitate the securement of said holder to the verticalsurface by an adhesive.
 9. The holder of claim 8 wherein said pluralrecesses comprise plural slots disposed parallel to one another.
 10. Theholder of claim 1 additionally comprising a least two openings in themounting plate through which threaded fasteners may be extended tosecure said holder to the vertical surface.
 11. The holder of claim 1additionally comprising indicia thereon.